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Melinda Doolittle heard the tight cluster of horns that opens You're the Reason and insisted producer Tre' Corley let her finish the tune.

Doolittle had never written much in the wake of her third-place finish on American Idol's sixth season, but she found great inspiration in You're the Reason (U.R.Y.), premiering at USA TODAY. The song wound up naming the new EP, which comes out Tuesday and features Doolittle's new single, Never Giving Up.

Doolittle, by all accounts one of the best pure singers ever to appear on the series, shows off her developing songwriting chops on the EP. The release also includes a song called Give, co-written by Connie Rae Harrington and Jimmy Yeary, two writers who, at Wednesday's Country Music Association Awards, won song of the year for co-writing the Lee Brice hit I Drive Your Truck.

The new material doesn't rely on the same old-school soul of 2009's Coming Back to You, but there's a snap and crackle not only in the funky grooves of You're the Reason, but in the live-wire energy of Doolittle's delivery.

The new EP will also feature an extended mix of You're the Reason (U.R.Y.).